Bournville 17 Old Yardleians 39
With only sixteen to choose from, the team almost selected itself but there were a few positional changes necessary on a bright morning after overnight frost. Bournville had a large squad to select from and it is was surprising to see that they left their more senior players on the sideline. This was to have a major impact on the final score.
Old Yards kicked off and Andrew chased and tackled the receiver allowing George B. to pick up and run on before passing on to George D. who made further ground before David took the ball on and ran across in front of the posts before crossing the line for his first try for Old Yards. The match was barely two minutes old when Stuart added the two extra points from the conversion. The home side were clearly unsettled by going behind so early and from the restart they were under pressure again. Scott showed good handling from the kick and set off on a run before passing out to Andrew who made further ground before playing out to Tom S. who moved the ball on to George D. George showing great confidence ran diagonally across field before playing in Stuart who burst through the static defence to take the score to 0-12 with only 4 minutes gone.
Old Yards could not believe their start to the game, which was a mixture of good handling, running, passing and decisive breaks. Bournville again kicked from the restart with George B. catching the ball this time. After a 30m run through the centre, George passed out to Austin who used his strength to drive on before feeding the ball out to David who in turn passed out to Alex who crossed the line for his first ever try. Old Yards again failed with the conversion attempt but with only 6 minutes gone they had a 17-0 lead, what a start!
Things didn't get any easier for the home side as, in the 10th minute, Old Yards extended their lead. Bournville won the ball from the scrum but David was alert and put in a tackle to turn over the ball which was fed out to George who made ground before passing to Andrew who ran in from 30m to score under the posts. Old Yards were now playing with a great deal of confidence and it seemed as though they could score at will. From the resulting restart the ball was dropped but not knocked on and was recovered and passed out to Andrew who made a strong run through the centre before passing to Stuart who still had work to do before crossing the line to give Old Yards a 27-0 lead. At this point it was necessary to change the referee after he pulled up with a twisted ankle.
After 20 mins. Old Yards almost scored again but the replacement referee decided that the away side failed to ground the ball as they went for a push over from a maul. From the resulting 5m scrum the ball was fed out to Stuart who scored his third try of the game. Stuart took over the kicking again and converted his own try with a fine kick. Bournville were finding it very difficult as they were failing to tackle the Old Yards players, allowing them to run the ball freely. Again Old Yards scored from the restart as Stuart caught the kick and made ground before being tackled. Old yards players were quick to the ball and from the ruck Callum passed out to George, who in turn passed to Andrew who broke through the line to score easily. The conversion was missed and there was no further scoring in the half.
Half Time - Bournville 0 Old Yardleians 39
At half time Bournville suggested that they may enforce the 50-0 rule and abandon the match to prevent a massive defeat for the home side. To try and prevent this Richard suggested that the scrums should be uncontested so as to allow Bournville to win their own put-ins. The home side decided to switch things around and brought on their more experienced players to strengthen the side. The combination of these three things saw a completely different second half and Old Yards were clearly affected by it as the free flowing rugby of the first half was stemmed.
Bournville reduced the defecit after 35 mins. when Old Yards messed up clearing from defence. From an Old Yards put in at a scrum the ball was played back to George deep behind the line and he was tackled before he could get the ball away. From the resulting 5m scrum, Bournville picked up to drive over the line. In the 42nd minute the home side scored a converted try to bring the score to 12-29.
Old Yards continued to look threatening and came close a couple of times but due to not having the ruthless cutting edge of the first half and a referee that was being a bit more than sympathetic to the home side, they did not increase their score in the second half. With 3 mins. remaining, Bournville reduced the deficit further by scoring another try.
As mentioned earlier, the circumstances lead to an unusual game but it was still a good workout with Old Yards playing some good free flowing rugby, particularly in the first half.
Full Time - Bournville 17 Old Yardleians 39
Team: Tom Carter, Scott Wilson, Austin Hughes, Christian Wilson, Alex Patrick, David O'Grady, Shannon Killarney, George Bishop, Callum Killarney, Matt Jesse, George Drabble, Andrew Cox, Tom Scott, Stuart Adams, Shaun Morris.
Replacements: Sheldon Du Plessis
Scorers: Tries - Stuart (3), Andrew (2), David, Alex,
Conversions - Stuart (2)